- Descending into the valley was pretty painless, all things considered. The baked rocky sides of the enormous ravine gave way to dry tall grasses. The trees thinned out until they grew in small patches, large bushes becoming the most common vegetation beside the endless golden sea of grass. In places, the grass and trees grew greener near water sources. Large rivers and smaller river beds wound across the valley, sometimes cutting into the earth to make slippery cliffs of clay and dirt. Large herds of animals darkened the horizon. Astrona was amazed at the sheer number of prey animals grouped together. Some of these herds had to be hundreds of members large!
Astrona was no hunter. She could sustain herself and a few other felines with her hunting skills, focused more on birds, fish, and small mammals instead of more dangerous prey that she sees roaming these lands. Some of these animals were so much larger than she first thought they were-- and as a result, the tigress kept her distance. Some of the deer had impressive horns, large and strong. Astrona sometimes had to wait for herds to pass by before continuing her journey.
As big as the valley was, it was of no surprise to her that she didn't find much evidence of lions at first. There was so much land, it was practically impossible to tell where these lions would live. They wouldn't live in trees-- there weren't enough to go around. Astrona saw some fast feline-looking animals running after prey, moving faster than any animal she's ever seen. If they noticed her, they did not approach.
Caimans were common dangers in deep water. Astrona had a large fright when she saw the size of the caimans in this land. Their heads were almost as large as herself! Because of this, Astrona kept to the swifter moving rivers or the smaller, shallower ones.
One of the large rivers snaked through a dark green patch on the horizon. A familiar color to her, not the pale yellow-greens of the valley. Astrona crossed the large river with much effort and found herself in a wetlands of sorts. Not quite swampy, with similar humidity and shade to her home. As Astrona wanders the land for the good portion of a week, looking for evidence of inhabitants who would not take kindly to her living on their land, she determines this place is unclaimed.
First, Astrona makes a point of picking a camp location. Not too wet, pretty deep in the heard of this forest. But not so deep that she cannot see the edges of the forest in the camp site if she was to keep watch. Some of the trees in this area are made of stone, partially enveloped by growing trees and vines. It is a bit startling to discover, but it makes for strong den support.
There is much work to do on this camp to get it prepared for herself, and then for others to join her. But first, it is enough to make herself a nice nest and spend her first night in a permanent den.
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